A&M Singing Cadets revisit San Angelo with two local natives

Singing Cadets plan Thursday show

SAN ANGELO, Texas - When San Angelo native Tyler Corder recently transferred from Angelo State University to Texas A&M, he was looking to join a group steeped in Aggie tradition. He found it with the Texas A&M Singing Cadets, which, in its 108th touring season, is one of the oldest groups on campus.

"I really love it," said Corder, who graduated from Central High School in 2011 and is the son of Dacia and Kent Corder of San Angelo. "It's kind of like a fraternity in a way because there's so many social events we get to go and do. We got to go to a cancer research hospital in Houston, and we got to sing some Christmas songs to them. It's things like that that make me love the group the most."

Dubbed "the voice of Aggieland," the Singing Cadets will return to San Angelo for the first time in two years for a free concert at 7 p.m. Thursday at Southland Baptist Church.

"We've gotten into that sort of a schedule with them," said Suzy Mears, a member of San Angelo Aggie Moms, which hosts the group, and this year's chairwoman of the Singing Cadets committee. "Back in 2006 we contacted them saying we were interested in hosting, and I think because the community gave them such a great response they've called us ever since … and asked if they could come."

The group's last concert in San Angelo drew 600 to 700 people, many of whom came to see San Angelo native Matt Groth, who is still part of the group, Mears said.

With Corder as a new member, the cadets have two San Angelo natives in the group of roughly 70 students.

Corder said he wasn't involved in choir in high school, but he did participate in musical theater. He had to audition to be part of the Singing Cadets, he said.

"The director has high expectations of the group, and I think the guys who participate in it, they pursue that excellence in every way," Mears added. "None of them are music majors, so it's especially unique that they can do such a good job."

Mears, who has been listening to one of the cadets' CDs in her car the past two months, said the men sing a variety of genres.

"They almost always open their programs with some Christian or gospel music," Mears said. "The director, his background is in church music, but he says they start singing to the creator who gave them the voices to sing. They move into a section that is patriotic and like a salute to the military, and then they will move into more pop tunes, and sometimes they'll feature a Beatles medley, a Temptations medley, a medley of songs through the decades, something from the '40s, '60s and on up. They always close with some school songs that are unique to A&M. Anyone who comes will hear something that appeals to them."

The cadets' musical talent is clear even to its members.

"It's really touching because a lot of the songs — especially the patriotic songs … I'm not bragging (but) we sound so harmonic," Corder said. "You just get these chills. Most people do end up crying during our shows because you get that effect. You have 70 people singing, (so) you're going to have chills because it's pretty incredible to hear."

According to the Singing Cadets' website, the group began in 1893 as an exclusively male glee club. It was named the Singing Cadets in 1940.

"Whenever women were allowed to come to Texas A&M, the glee club decided to open up to regular students," Corder said. "We do some of the stuff the corps cadets do tradition-wise, and we also dress in the old cadet uniforms. … Tradition is why" the group keeps its cadet name.

The group, which performs more than 70 times a year, travels annually throughout the state and the U.S., according to its website. Corder said the cadets also tour internationally every four years and are planning a 10-day trip to China this summer.

"Oh my gosh, I am so pumped," Corder said of the international tour. "We're trying to perform at all the major art centers in China, and those are supposed to be some of the most impressive buildings in the world because they respect the arts a lot. And we're also learning some songs in Chinese for that, so I'm looking forward to it."

He also looks forward to returning to San Angelo this week as a cadet.

"I get to show all these people from A&M my hometown," he said. "I feel a lot of pride in San Angelo that I didn't have before."

Mears said the cadets' shows also are enjoyable for San Angelo.

"We line up host families for them to spend the night with, and I've heard stories about how families and those guys have become good friends and kept up with each other years later," she said. "It's a neat event for us to host as a gift to our community, but as a gift to ourselves as well."